The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member

honor society In the United States, an honor society is an organization that recognizes individuals who rank above a set standard in various domains such as academics, leadership, and other personal achievements, not all of which are based on ranking systems. ...

whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in

American literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the British colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, and

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headquarters is in the Washington Heights neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It shares

Audubon Terrace Audubon Terrace (also known as the Audubon Terrace Historic District) is a group of eight early-20th century Beaux Arts/ American Renaissance buildings in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, United States ...

, a Beaux Arts/

American Renaissance The American Renaissance was a period of American architecture and the arts from 1876 to 1917, characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance hu ...

complex on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

between West 155th and 156th Streets, with the

Hispanic Society of America The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term. The term commonly appl ...

and

Boricua College Boricua College is a private college in New York City designed to serve the educational needs of Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in the United States. History The college was founded by a group of educators and community organizers, includi ...

. The academy's galleries are open to the public on a published schedule. Exhibits include an annual exhibition of paintings, sculptures, photographs and works on paper by contemporary artists nominated by its members, and an annual exhibition of works by newly elected members and recipients of honors and awards. A permanent exhibit of the recreated studio of composer

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...

was opened in 2014. The auditorium is sought out by musicians and engineers wishing to record live, as the acoustics are considered among the city's finest. Hundreds of commercial recordings have been made there.

History

Early years

The American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters was formed from three parent organizations. The first, the

American Social Science Association In 1865, at Boston, Massachusetts, a society for the study of social questions was organized and given the name American Social Science Association. The group grew to where its membership totaled about 1,000 persons. About 30 corresponding members ...

, was founded in 1865 in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. The second was the National Institute of Arts and Letters, which ASSA's membership created in 1898. The qualification for membership in the NIAL was notable achievement in art, music, or literature. The NIAL's membership was at first limited to 150 (all men). The third organization was the American Academy of Arts, which NIAL's membership created in 1904 as a preeminent national arts institution, styling itself after the

French Academy French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. The AAA's first seven academicians were elected from ballots cast by the NIAL membership. They were

William Dean Howells William Dean Howells ( ; March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American Realism (arts), realist novelist, literary critic, playwright, and diplomat, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of ...

, Samuel L. Clemens,

Edmund Clarence Stedman Edmund Clarence Stedman (October 8, 1833January 18, 1908) was an American poet, critic, essayist, banker, and scientist. Early life Edmund Clarence Stedman was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on October 8, 1833; his father, Major Edmund Burke ...

, and

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a Secretary to the President of the United States, private secretary for Abraha ...

, representing literature;

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculpture, sculptor of the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin to an Iris ...

and

John La Farge John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge made stained glass ...

, representing art; and

Edward MacDowell Edward Alexander MacDowell (December 18, 1860January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites '' Woodland Sketches'', ''Sea Pieces'' and ''Ne ...

, representing music. The NIAL membership increased in 1904, with the introduction of a two-tiered structure: 50 academicians and 200 regular members. Academicians were gradually elected over the next several years. The elite group (academicians) were called the "Academy", and the larger group (regular members) was called the "Institute". This strict two-tiered system persisted for 72 years (1904–1976). In 1908, the poet

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe ( ; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as new lyrics to an existing song, and the original 1870 pacifist Mothers' Day Proclamation. She w ...

was elected to the AAA, becoming the first female academician. In 1976, the NIAL and AAA merged, under the name American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. The combined Academy/Institute structure had a maximum of 250 living U.S. citizens as members, plus up to 75 foreign composers, artists, and writers as honorary members. It also established the annual

Witter Bynner Poetry Prize The Witter Bynner Poetry Prize was established by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1980 to support the work of a young poet. It is named for poet Witter Bynner. The prize was discontinued in 2003. It is not to be confuse ...

in 1980 to support young poets. The election of foreign honorary members persisted until 1993, when it was abandoned.

Federally chartered corporation

The academy holds a

Congressional charter A congressional charter is a law passed by the United States Congress that states the mission, authority, and activities of a group. Congress has issued corporate charters since 1791 and the laws that issue them are codified in Title 36 of the ...

under

Title 36 of the United States Code The United States Code is the official compilation of the Federal laws of a general and permanent nature that are currently in force. Title 36 covers "Patriotic and National Observances, Ceremonies, and Organizations." Parts Subtitle I: Patrio ...

(42 USC 20301 et seq.), making it one of the country's comparatively rare "Title 36" corporations. The 1916 statute of incorporation established this institution among a small number of other similarly chartered patriotic and national organizations. The federal incorporation was originally construed primarily as an honor. The special recognition neither implies nor accords Congress any special control over the academy, which functions independently. Active sponsors of Congressional action were Senator

Henry Cabot Lodge Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850November 9, 1924) was an American politician, historian, lawyer, and statesman from Massachusetts. A member of the History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served in the United States ...

of Massachusetts and former President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

. The process that led to the creation of this federal charter was controversial and the first attempt to gain the charter in 1910 failed. Lodge reintroduced legislation, which passed the Senate in 1913. The academy was incorporated under the laws of the State of New York in 1914, which resulted in Congressional approval in 1916.

Buildings

Audubon Terrace American Academy of Arts and Letters West 155th Street entrance

The academy occupies three buildings on the west end of the

complex created by

Archer M. Huntington Archer Milton Huntington (March 10, 1870 – December 11, 1955) was an American philanthropist and scholar, primarily known for his contributions to the field of Hispanic studies. He founded the Hispanic Society of America in New York City, an ...

, the heir to the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

fortune and a noted philanthropist. To help convince the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Institute of Arts and Letters, which were separate but related organizations at the time, to move to the complex, Huntington established building funds and endowments for both.

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the Government of New York City, New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation, Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting Ne ...

br>"Audubon Terrace Historic District Designation Report"
(January 9, 1979). The first building, on the complex's south side, along West 155th Street, was designed by William M. Kendall of

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...

; Kendall was also a member of the academy. This Anglo-Italian Renaissance administration building was designed in 1921 and opened in 1923. On the north side, another building housing an auditorium and gallery was designed by

Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of Early skyscrapers, skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minneso ...

, also an academy member, and built in 1928–1930. These additions to the complex necessitated considerable alterations to the Audubon Terrace plaza, which were designed by McKim, Mead & White. In 2007, the

American Numismatic Society The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is a New York City-based organization dedicated to the study of coins, money, medals, tokens, and related objects. Founded in 1858, it is the only American museum devoted exclusively to their preservation ...

, which had occupied a Charles P. Huntington-designed building immediately to the east of the academy's original building, vacated that space to move to smaller quarters downtown. This building, which incorporates a 1929 addition designed by H. Brooks Price, became the academy's Annex and houses additional gallery space. In 2009, the space between the Annex and the administration building was turned into a new entrance link, designed by Vincent Czajka with

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Pei Cobb Freed & Partners is an American architectural firm based in New York City, founded in 1955 by I. M. Pei and other associates.

Membership

Members of the academy are chosen for life and have included some of the American art scene's leading figures. They are organized into committees that award annual prizes to up-and-coming artists. Although the names of some of the organization's members may not be well-known today, each was well known in their time. Greatness and pettiness are demonstrable among the academy members, even during the first decade, when

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...

declined his nomination on the grounds that his little brother

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

had been elected first. One of the giants of the academy in his time,

Robert Underwood Johnson Robert Underwood Johnson (January 12, 1853 – October 14, 1937) was an American writer, poet, and diplomat. Biography Robert Underwood Johnson was born on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. on January 12, 1853 and spent his childhood in Cente ...

, casts a decades-long shadow in his one-man war against encroaching modernism, blackballing such writers as

H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940), widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and exces ...

, and

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

(before his emigration to England disqualified him for full membership). Former

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

president

Charles William Eliot Charles William Eliot (March 20, 1834 – August 22, 1926) was an American academic who was president of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909, the longest term of any Harvard president. A member of the prominent Eliot family (America), Eliot fam ...

declined election to the academy "because he was already in so many societies that he didn't want to add to the number". Although never explicitly excluded, women were not elected to membership in the early years. The admission of

in January 1908 (at age 88) as the first woman in the academy was only one incident in the intense debate about the consideration of female members. In 1926, the election of four women—

Edith Wharton Edith Newbold Wharton (; ; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gil ...

Margaret Deland Margaret Deland (born Margaretta Wade Campbell; February 23, 1857 – January 13, 1945) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet. She also wrote an autobiography in two volumes. She generally is considered part of the literary ...

Agnes Repplier Agnes Repplier (April 1, 1855 – December 15, 1950) was an American essayist. Early years She was born in Philadelphia in 1855,Nancy A. Walker, Nancy Nash-Cummings, Zita Dresner. Redressing the balance: American women's literary humor from Colo ...

and

Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman (October 31, 1852 – March 13, 1930) was an American author. Biography Freeman was born in Randolph, Massachusetts on October 31, 1852, to Eleanor Lothrop and Warren Edward Wilkins, who originally baptized her " ...

—was said to have "marked the letting down of the bars to women"."First Women Elected to Institute of Arts; Edith Wharton Among the Four Chosen — American Academy Makes Two Men Members"
''The New York Times''. November 12, 1926. The first African-American woman member-elect was

Gwendolyn Brooks Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poet ...

in 1976. Below is a partial list of past members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and its successor institution, the National Institute and Academy of Arts and Letters: *

Henry Brooks Adams Henry Brooks Adams (February 16, 1838 – March 27, 1918) was an American historian and a member of the Adams political family, descended from two U.S. presidents. As a young Harvard graduate, he served as secretary to his father, Charles Franc ...

"Academicians Meet Here This Week; Members of Institute Will Join Them in Sessions at the Ritz-Carlton. France to send Greeting; Concert Wherein All Works Are by American Composers Will Be Heard"
''The New York Times''. November 12, 1916. * Herbert Adams"Two New Members for the Academy; Dr. Barrett Wendell and Garl Melchers, the Painter, Honored at Meeting"
''The New York Times''. November 16, 1916. *

Henry Mills Alden Henry Mills Alden (November 11, 1836 – October 7, 1919) was an American author and editor of ''Harper's Magazine'' for fifty years—from 1869 until 1919. Early years He was born on November 11, 1836, in Mount Tabor near Danby, Vermont, eight ...

Nelson Algren Nelson Algren (born Nelson Ahlgren Abraham; March 28, 1909 – May 9, 1981) was an American writer. His 1949 novel '' The Man with the Golden Arm'' won the National Book Award and was adapted as the 1955 film of the same name. Algren articulate ...

Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (born Johanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theory, political theorists of the twentieth century. Her work ...

Newton Arvin Frederic Newton Arvin (August 23, 1900 – March 21, 1963) was an American literary critic and academic. He achieved national recognition for his studies of individual nineteenth-century American authors. After teaching at Smith College in N ...

Wystan Hugh Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone (l ...

Paul Wayland Bartlett Paul Wayland Bartlett (January 24, 1865 – September 20, 1925) was an American sculptor working in the Beaux-Arts tradition of heroic realism. Biography Bartlett was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Truman Howe Bartlett, an art crit ...

Chester Beach Chester A. Beach (May 23, 1881 – August 6, 1956) was an American sculptor who was known for his busts and medallic art. Early life Beach was born in San Francisco, California. He studied initially at the California School of Mechanical Arts ...

Stephen Vincent Benét Stephen Vincent Benét ( ; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He wrote a book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'', published in 1928, for which he receive ...

William Rose Benét William Rose Benét (February 2, 1886 – May 4, 1950) was an American poet, writer, and editor. He was the older brother of Stephen Vincent Benét. Early life and education He was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Col. James Walker Benét ...

Edwin Howland Blashfield Edwin Howland Blashfield (December 5, 1848October 12, 1936) was an American painter and muralist, most known for painting the murals on the dome of the Library of Congress Main Reading Room in Washington, DC. Biography Blashfield was born i ...

* William Brownell *

George de Forest Brush George de Forest Brush (September 28, 1855 – April 24, 1941) was an American painter and Georgist. In collaboration with his friend, the artist Abbott H. Thayer, he made contributions to military camouflage, as did his wife, aviator and artist M ...

John Burroughs John Burroughs (April 3, 1837 – March 29, 1921) was an American naturalist and nature essayist, active in the conservation movement in the United States. The first of his essay collections was ''Wake-Robin'' in 1871. In the words of his bi ...

"Academy Honors John Burroughs; Naturalist Praised by Bliss Perry and Hamlin Garland at Memorial Meeting"
''The New York Times'', November 19, 1921. *

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

Nicholas Murray Butler Nicholas Murray Butler (April 2, 1862 – December 7, 1947) was an American philosopher, diplomat, and educator. Butler was president of Columbia University, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a recipient of the Nobel ...

George Washington Cable George Washington Cable (October 12, 1844 – January 31, 1925) was an American novelist notable for the realism of his portrayals of Creole life in his native New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been called "the most important southern artist wo ...

Hortense Calisher Hortense Calisher (December 20, 1911 – January 13, 2009) was an American writer of fiction and the second female president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Biography Personal life Born in New York City, and a graduate of Hunter Co ...

Joseph Campbell Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of t ...

George Whitefield Chadwick George Whitefield Chadwick (November 13, 1854 – April 4, 1931) was an American composer. Along with John Knowles Paine, Horatio Parker, Amy Beach, Arthur Foote, and Edward MacDowell, he was a representative composer of what is called the Sec ...

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later became the Parsons School of Design. ...

Chou Wen-chung Chou Wen-chung (; July 28, 1923 – October 25, 2019) was a Chinese American composer of contemporary classical music. He emigrated in 1946 to the United States and received his music training at the New England Conservatory and Columbia Univ ...

* Timothy Cole *

Billy Collins William James Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet who served as the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He was a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York, retiring in 2016. Co ...

Kenyon Cox Kenyon Cox (October 27, 1856 – March 17, 1919) was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, writer, and teacher. Cox was an influential and important early instructor at the Art Students League of New York. He was the designer of the League ...

John Dos Passos John Roderigo Dos Passos (; January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) was an American novelist, most notable for his U.S.A. (trilogy), ''U.S.A.'' trilogy. Born in Chicago, Dos Passos graduated from Harvard College in 1916. He traveled widely as a ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Thomas Harlan Ellett Thomas Harlan Ellett (September 2, 1880 – November 24, 1951) was an American architect who practiced in New York City. Early life and education Harlan Ellett, as he was known in his youth, was born in 1880 and grew up in Sherman Township, ...

Stanley Elkin Stanley Lawrence Elkin (May 11, 1930 – May 31, 1995) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. His extravagant, satirical fiction revolves around American consumerism, popular culture, and male-female relationships. Biograp ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Ralph Ellison Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, literary critic, and scholar best known for his novel '' Invisible Man'', which won the National Book Award in 1953. Ellison wrote '' Shadow and Act'' (1964), a co ...

Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculpture, sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works include ''The Minute Man'', an 1874 statue in Concord, Massachusetts, and his Statue of Abr ...

William Gaddis William Thomas Gaddis Jr. (December 29, 1922 – December 16, 1998) was an American novelist. The first and longest of his five novels, ''The Recognitions'', was named one of TIME magazine's 100 best novels from 1923 to 2005 and two other ...

Hamlin Garland Hannibal Hamlin Garland (September 14, 1860 – March 4, 1940) was an American novelist, poet, essayist, short story writer, Georgist, and psychical researcher. He is best known for his fiction involving hard-working Midwestern farmers. Biogr ...

"Elected to Academy; Brand Whitlock and Hamlin Garland in Arts and Letters"
''The New York Times''. January 12, 1918. *

Charles Dana Gibson Charles Dana Gibson (September 14, 1867 – December 23, 1944) was an American illustrator who created the Gibson Girl, an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent American woman at the turn of the 20th century. He published his ...

Richard Watson Gilder Richard Watson Gilder (February 8, 1844 – November 19, 1909) was an American poet and editor. Life and career Gilder was born on February 8, 1844 at Bordentown, New Jersey. He was the son of Jane (Nutt) Gilder and the Rev. William Henry Gi ...

Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve (October 23, 1831January 9, 1924) was an American classics, classical scholar. An author of numerous works, and founding editor of the ''American Journal of Philology'', he has been credited with contributions to the sy ...

Brendan Gill Brendan Gill (October 4, 1914 – December 27, 1997) was an American journalist. He wrote for ''The New Yorker'' for more than 60 years. Gill also contributed film criticism for ''Film Comment'', wrote about design and architecture for Architectu ...

William Gillette William Hooker Gillette (July 24, 1853 – April 29, 1937) was an American actor-manager, playwright, and stage manager in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best remembered for portraying Sherlock Holmes on stage and in a 191 ...

Daniel Coit Gilman Daniel Coit Gilman (; July 6, 1831 – October 13, 1908) was an American educator and academic. Gilman was instrumental in founding the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale College, and subsequently served as the second president of the University ...

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

Bertram G. Goodhue Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (April 28, 1869 – April 23, 1924) was an American architect celebrated for his work in Gothic Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for ...

* Robert Grant *

William Elliot Griffis William Elliot Griffis (September 17, 1843 - February 5, 1928) was an American orientalist, Congregational minister, lecturer, and prolific author.Brown, John Howard. (1904)."Griffis, William Elliot,"''The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictiona ...

Arthur Twining Hadley Arthur Twining Hadley (, ; April 23, 1856 – March 6, 1930) was an American economist who served as President of Yale University from 1899 to 1921. Biography Hadley was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of James Hadley, Professor of Greek ...

Childe Hassam Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressionis ...

Thomas Hastings Thomas Hastings may refer to: *Thomas Hastings (colonist) (1605–1685), English immigrant to New England *Thomas Hastings (composer) (1784–1872), American composer, primarily of hymn tunes * Thomas Hastings (cricketer) (1865–1938), Australian c ...

Anthony Hecht Anthony Evan Hecht (January 16, 1923 – October 20, 2004) was an American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the Second World War, in which he fought, an ...

David Jayne Hill Rev. David Jayne Hill (June 10, 1850 – March 2, 1932) was an American academic, diplomat and author. He was president of Bucknell University and the University of Rochester. Early life The son of Baptist minister David T. Hill, David Jayne H ...

Ripley Hitchcock Ripley Hitchcock (born James Ripley Wellman Hitchcock; 1857–1918) was a prominent American editor. He edited the works of Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, Zane Grey, Joel Chandler Harris, Stephen Crane and Theodore Dreiser. Biography Rip ...

* Cecil de Blaquiere Howard *

William Henry Howe William Henry Howe (22 November 1846 in Ravenna, Ohio – 16 March 1929 in Bronxville, New York) was an American painter active in Bronxville, New York, Bronxville. Howe was a student of Otto de Thoren and Félix de Vuillefroy-Cassini, Vuillefroy ...

Archer Milton Huntington Archer Milton Huntington (March 10, 1870 – December 11, 1955) was an American philanthropist and scholar, primarily known for his contributions to the field of Hispanic studies. He founded the Hispanic Society of America in New York City, an ...

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

Louis I. Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whil ...

Kenneth Koch Kenneth Koch ( ; February 27, 1925 – July 6, 2002) was an American poet, playwright, and professor, active from the 1950s until his death at age 77.) He was a prominent poet of the New York School of poetry. This was a loose group of poets inc ...

Maxine Kumin Maxine Kumin (June 6, 1925 – February 6, 2014) was an American poet and author. She was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1981–1982. Biography Early years Maxine Kumin was born Maxine Winokur on June ...

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1930, he became the first author from the United States (and the first from the America ...

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...

Abbott Lawrence Lowell Abbott Lawrence Lowell (December 13, 1856 – January 6, 1943) was an American educator and legal scholar. He was president of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933. With an "aristocratic sense of mission and self-certainty," Lowell cut a large ...

* Mary McCarthy *

Hamilton Wright Mabie Hamilton Wright Mabie, A.M., L.H.D., LL.D. (December 13, 1846 – December 31, 1916) was an American essayist, editor, critic, and lecturer. Biography Hamilton Wright Mabie was born at Cold Spring, New York on December 13, 1846. He was the youn ...

Archibald MacLeish Archibald MacLeish (May 7, 1892 – April 20, 1982) was an American poet and writer, who was associated with the modernist school of poetry. MacLeish studied English at Yale University and law at Harvard University. He enlisted in and saw action ...

* Frederick William MacMonnies * J. D. McClatchy *

Brander Matthews James Brander Matthews (February 21, 1852 – March 31, 1929) was an American academic, writer and literary critic. He was the first full-time professor of dramatic literature at Columbia University in New York and played a significant role in est ...

* William Keepers Maxwell Jr. *

William Rutherford Mead William Rutherford Mead (August 20, 1846 – June 19, 1928) was an American architect who was the "Center of the Office" of McKim, Mead, and White, a noted Gilded Age architectural firm.Baker, Paul R. ''Stanny'' The firm's other founding pa ...

Gari Melchers Julius Garibaldi (Gari) Melchers (August 11, 1860 – November 30, 1932) was an American artist. He was one of the leading American proponents of naturalism. He won a 1932 Gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Biography The ...

Willard Metcalf Willard Leroy Metcalf (July 1, 1858March 9, 1925) was an American painter born in Lowell, Massachusetts. He studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and later attended Académie Julian, Paris. After early figure-painting and il ...

Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyric poetry, lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted Feminism, feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. ...

* Charles Moore *

Douglas Moore Douglas Stuart Moore (August 10, 1893 – July 25, 1969) was an American composer, songwriter, organist, pianist, Conducting, conductor, educator, actor, and author. A composer who mainly wrote works with an American subject, his music is genera ...

Paul Elmer More Paul Elmer More (December 12, 1864 – March 9, 1937) was an American journalist, critic, essayist and Christian apologist. Biography Paul Elmer More, the son of Enoch Anson and Katherine Hay Elmer, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He was edu ...

Robert Motherwell Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American Abstract Expressionism, abstract expressionist Painting, painter, printmaker, and editor of ''The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology''. He was one of the youngest of th ...

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 March 6, 1986) was an American Modernism, modernist painter and drafter, draftswoman whose career spanned seven decades and whose work remained largely independent of major art movements. Called the "M ...

* Thomas N. Page *

Horatio Parker Horatio William Parker (September 15, 1863 – December 18, 1919) was an American composer, organist and teacher. He was a central figure in musical life in New Haven, Connecticut in the late 19th century, and is best remembered as the undergradua ...

Joseph Pennell Joseph Pennell (July 4, 1857 – April 23, 1926) was an American draftsman, etcher, lithographer, and illustrator for books and magazines. A prolific artist, he spent most of his working life in Europe, and developed an interest in landmarks, lan ...

Bliss Perry Bliss Perry (25 November 1860 – 13 February 1954), was an American literary critic, writer, editor, and teacher. Biography Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts to Arthur Latham Perry, a prominent economist, and Mary Brown Perry. He w ...

William Lyon Phelps William Lyon Phelps (January 2, 1865 New Haven, Connecticut – August 21, 1943 New Haven, Connecticut) was an American author, critic and scholar. He taught the first American university course on the modern novel. He had a radio show, wrote ...

Charles Adams Platt Charles Adams Platt (October 16, 1861 – September 12, 1933) was an American architect, garden designer, and artist of the "American Renaissance" movement. His garden designs complemented his domestic architecture. Early career Painting and ...

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...

James Ford Rhodes James Ford Rhodes (May 1, 1848 – January 22, 1927), was an American industrialist and historian born in Cleveland, Ohio. After earning a fortune in the iron, coal, and steel industries by 1885, he retired from business to devote time to histo ...

James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...

* George Lockhart Rives *

Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican Party (United States), Republican politician, and statesman who served as the 41st United States Secretary of War under presidents William McKinley and Theodor ...

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko ( ; Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz until 1940; September 25, 1903February 25, 1970) was an American abstract art, abstract painter. He is best known for his color field paintings that depicted irregular and painterly rectangular reg ...

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg w ...

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...

Meyer Schapiro Meyer Schapiro (23 September 1904 – 3 March 1996) was a Lithuanian-born American art historian who developed new art historical methodologies that incorporated an interdisciplinary approach to the study of works. An expert on early Christian, ...

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

Harry Rowe Shelley Harry Rowe Shelley (June 8, 1858 – September 12, 1947) was an American composer, organist (church and concert), and professor of music. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Shelley studied with Gustave J. Stoeckel at Yale College, Dudley Buck, ...

* Stuart Sherman *

Robert E. Sherwood Robert Emmet Sherwood (April 4, 1896 – November 14, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He is the author of ''Waterloo Bridge, Idiot's Delight, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, There Shall Be No Night'', and ''The Best Years of Our Li ...

Paul Shorey Paul Shorey (August 3, 1857 – April 24, 1934) was an American classical scholar. Biography Shorey was born at Davenport, Iowa. After graduating from Harvard University, Harvard in 1878, he studied in Europe at University of Leipzig, Leip ...

William Milligan Sloane William Milligan Sloane (November 12, 1850 – September 12, 1928) was an American educator and historian. Career William Milligan Sloane was born in Richmond, Ohio on November 12, 1850. He graduated from Columbia College of Columbia Univers ...

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

Lorado Taft Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860 – October 30, 1936) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. Part of the American Renaissance movement, his monumental pieces include, ''Fountain of Time'', ''Spirit of the Great Lakes'', and ''The ...

Josef Tal Josef Tal (; September 18, 1910 – August 25, 2008) was an Israeli composer. He wrote three Hebrew operas; four German operas, dramatic scenes; six symphonies; 13 concerti; chamber music, including three string quartets; instrumental works; ...

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Abbott Handerson Thayer Abbott Handerson Thayer (August 12, 1849May 29, 1921) was an American painter, naturalist, and teacher. As a painter of portraits, figures, animals, and landscapes, he enjoyed a certain prominence during his lifetime, and his paintings are repres ...

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Virgil Thomson Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassic ...

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* Barrett Wendell *

Andrew Dickson White Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who co-founded Cornell University, one of eight Ivy League universities in the United States, and served as its first president for nearly two de ...

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...

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William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. His '' Spring and All'' (1923) was written in the wake of T. S. Eliot's '' The Waste Land'' (1922). ...

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* James A. Wright

Current academicians

Awards

Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts

The award, a certificate and $1,000, goes to a United States resident who has "rendered notable service to the arts". * 2003:

Leon Botstein Leon Botstein (born December 14, 1946, in Zürich, Switzerland) is a Swiss-born American conductor, educator, historical musicologist, and scholar serving as the President of Bard College. Biography Botstein was born in Zürich, Switzerland, ...

* 2008:

Judith Jamison Judith Ann Jamison (; May 10, 1943 – November 9, 2024) was an American dancer and choreographer. She danced with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 1965 to 1980 and was Ailey's muse. She later returned to be the company's artistic di ...

Other awards

The academy gives out numerous awards, with recipients chosen by committees of academy members. Candidates for awards must be nominated by Academy members, except for the Richard Rodgers awards, for which an application may be submitted. * Arts and Letters Award (formerly, the Academy Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters): In 1941, the academy established awards to encourage creative work in the arts. Now $10,000 each, Academy Awards are given annually: five to artists, eight to writers, four to composers, and three to architects. * Marc Blitzstein Award: The $5,000 award is given periodically to a composer, lyricist, or librettist, "to encourage the creation of works of merit for musical theater and opera". The award was established in 1965 by the friends of

Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and Libretto, librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-Trade union, union musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, ...

, an academy member. * Michael Braude Award for Light Verse: The $5,000 biennial award is given "for light verse written in English regardless of the country of origin of the writer". * Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize: The annual prize of $5,000 goes to an architect of any nationality who has "made a contribution to architecture as an art". *

Benjamin H. Danks Award Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...

: The $20,000 award is given in rotation to a composer of ensemble works, a playwright, and a writer (fiction, nonfiction, poetry). Since 2002, the academy has administered the prize established by Roy Lyndon Danks in honor of his father, Benjamin Hadley Danks. * Jimmy Ernst Award: Established by Dallas Ernst in memory of her husband, the

Jimmy Ernst Hans-Ulrich Ernst (June 24, 1920 – February 6, 1984), known as Jimmy Ernst, was an American painter born in Germany. Early life Jimmy Ernst was born in 1920 in Cologne, Germany, the son of German Surrealist painter Max Ernst and Luise St ...

Award of $5,000 is given to a painter or sculptor "whose lifetime contribution to his or her vision has been both consistent and dedicated". The award has been presented annually since 1990. * E. M. Forster Award:

E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author. He is best known for his novels, particularly '' A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910) and '' A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous shor ...

, a foreign honorary member of the academy, bequeathed the U.S. royalties of his posthumous novel ''Maurice'' to

Christopher Isherwood Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include '' Goodbye to Berlin'' (1939), a semi-autobiographical ...

, who transferred them to the academy to establish this $15,000 award. It is given to a young English writer for an extended visit to the United States. *

American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medals Two American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medals are awarded each year by the academy for distinguished achievement. The two awards are taken in rotation from these categories: *Belles Lettres and Criticism, and Painting; *Biography and Mus ...

: Each year the academy awards gold medals for distinguished achievement in two categories in rotation. The Gold Medal is given for the entire work of the recipient. ** Belles Lettres, Criticism, Essays and

Painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

; **

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

and

Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

; **

Fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

and

Sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

; **

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, including landscape architecture; **

Poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

and

; **

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

and

Graphic Art A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface,Walter Hinrichsen Award: The Walter Hinrichsen Award is given for the publication of "a work by a mid-career American composer". *

William Dean Howells Medal The William Dean Howells Medal is awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music ...

: This award is given every five years in recognition of the most distinguished American novel published during that period. It was established in 1925. * Andrew Imbrie Award in Music: This award of $10,000, inaugurated in 2012, was made possible through a gift from Andrew and Barbara Imbrie. It is awarded annually to a mid-career composer of demonstrated artistic merit. * The

Charles Ives Prize The Charles Ives Awards are scholarships for young composers, awarded annually by the American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain exce ...

: Six scholarships of $7,500 and two fellowships of $15,000 are now given annually to young composers. In 1998, the academy established the Charles Ives Living, an award of $75,000 a year for a period of three years given to an American composer. The award's purpose is to free "a promising talent from the need to devote his or her time to any employment other than music composition" during that period. * The Charles Ives Opera Prize: In 2008, the academy awarded the inaugural Charles Ives Opera Prize of $50,000, to be given from time to time to a composer and a librettist for a recently produced opera. It is America's largest vocal music award. *

Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction The Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction is an American literary award presented by the American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain ex ...

: The $5,000 prize is given for the best published first novel or collection of short stories in the preceding year. * Wladimir and Rhoda Lakond Award: an annual award of $5,000 "given either to a composition student or an experienced composer". * Goddard Lieberson Fellowships: Two Goddard Lieberson Fellowships of $15,000 are given annually to young composers of extraordinary gifts. The CBS Foundation endowed the fellowships in memory of Lieberson, the late president of CBS Records. *

Russell Loines Award for Poetry Russell Loines Award for Poetry was a poetry award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature ...

* American Academy of Arts and Letters Award of Merit: The Award of Merit, a medal and $10,000, is given each year, in rotation, to an outstanding person in America representing painting, the short story, sculpture, the novel, poetry, and drama. * Metcalf Awards: In 1986, the academy received a bequest from Addison M. Metcalf, son of the late member Willard L. Metcalf, for two awards to honor young writers and artists of great promise. The Willard L. Metcalf Award in Art and the Addison M. Metcalf Award in Literature are biennial awards of $10,000. * Katherine Anne Porter Award: This biennial award of $20,000 goes to a prose writer who has demonstrated achievements and dedication to the literary profession. * Arthur Rense Prize: In 1998, this $20,000 award was established to honor "an exceptional poet" every third year. *

Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater The Richard Rodgers Award is an annual award presented by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and was created and endowed by Richard Rodgers in 1978 for the development of new works in musical theatre. These awards provide financial support ...

: These awards subsidize full productions, studio productions, and staged readings of musicals put on by nonprofit theaters in New York City. The plays are by composers and writers who are not already established. These are the only awards for which the academy accepts applications. *

Rome Prize The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Recipients must be American citizens. Prizes have been aw ...

in Literature: Every year the academy selects and partly subsidizes two young writers for a one-year residence at the American Academy in Rome. * Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Awards: Each of these two awards are for $5,000. The first, established in 1956, is for a fiction work of "considerable literary achievement" published in the previous year. The second, created in 1959, is for a young painter "who has not yet been accorded due recognition". * Medal for Spoken Language: This medal, awarded from time to time, recognizes individuals who set a standard of excellence in the use of spoken language. * The Mildred and Harold Strauss Livings: These Livings provide an annual stipend of $50,000 a year for five years, awarded to two writers of English prose literature to enable them to devote their time exclusively to writing. *

Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

: This $10,000 award is given each year to honor a writer of "recent prose that merits recognition for the quality of its style". * Morton Dauwen Zabel Award: This $10,000 biennial award is given in rotation to a poet, writer of fiction, or critic, "of progressive, original, and experimental tendencies". * Thornton Wilder Prize

References

;Notes ;Sources * Lewis, Richard W. B. (1998)
"1898–1907: The Founder's Story"
i
''A Century of Arts & Letters''
(John Updike, ed.). New York:

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

. (cloth)

External links

American Academy of Arts & Letters
nbsp;— official website

nbsp;— easiest to read *

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

36 USC Chapter 203
**

United States Government Publishing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office produces and distributes informati ...

(GPO)
US Code, Title 36, Chapter 203
nbsp;— revised §4701 ''et seq.'' (1916–1998)
American Academy of Arts and Letters records, 1864–1942
from the Smithsonian

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:American Academy Of Arts And Letters Learned societies of the United States American artist groups and collectives American writers' organizations Patriotic and national organizations chartered by the United States Congress Society museums in New York (state) Museums in Manhattan Washington Heights, Manhattan 1904 establishments in New York City Organizations established in 1904 Academies of arts